Game Wrap 6/13/2023: Giants 11 Cardinals 3

Michael Conforto led an overpowering Giants offense to a runaway win tempered by the loss of Mitch Haniger with a fractured forearm and possibly J. D. Davis with an ankle injury.  Key Lines:

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 2 for 5, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .276.  LMWJ just doing his thing.  He was on 2B in the 4'th inning.  After Joc ended the inning with a groundout to 1B, Jack Flaherty RHP for the Cardinals started pointing and barking and the usually sunny dispositioned Lamonte got hot.  John Brebbia RHP made a grade 70 spring in from the dugout to join a fray that ended up not amounting to much.

Thairo Estrada 2B- 2 for 5, BB.  BA= .294.  Thairo drives in a run and scores one from the 2-hole.  

 

J. D. Davis 3B- 1 for 2.  BA= .286.  Davis injured his ankle sliding into 3B.  He got up and walked off the field.  Kap said after the game too soon to tell if IL is in order.  David Villar flying in just in case.  I prolonged IL stint for Davis would be most unfortunate as he has been one of the Giants more valuable players, coming close to carrying the team at times.

Blake Sabol LF- 1 for 2, BB, SF.  BA= .252.  Davis and Haniger were injured in the same inning.  Since Davis was out at 3B he did not need a PR so Sabol replaced him in the bottom of the inning while playing LF.  

Michael Conforto RF- 4 for 2B.  BA= .250.  Big night for Conforto with 3 RBI's and a Run.  He was in a mini-slump so is only batting .250 over his last 7 games but is hitting .333 over his last 15.

Mitch Haniger LF- 0 for 1, HBP.  BA= .230.  As mentioned in the lead-in, Haniger was HBP on the R forearm and found to have a fracture.  This will almost certainly result in a 2-month or more IL stint.  I expect him to go on the 60-day IL at some point.  I am sure there are readers and commenters here who are dancing in the streets now because this clears the way for Luis Matos OF to make his much-anticipated MLB debut.  Just to be clear, I love Matos and am as eager to see how he does in the majors as anyone, but Haniger's injury is not good news for the Giants or their fans.  This is the latest in a long line of freak injuries to result in the loss of large chunks of playing time for Haniger and at some point you have to wonder if the baseball gods just hate him for some reason and also when/if the accumulated injuries take their toll on his ability to perform.  Didn't a forearm fracture all but end Hunter Pence's career?

Mike Yastrzemski CF- 1 for 4, HR(7), BB.  BA= .249.  YtY hit the first of B2B HR's with Patrick Bailey in the 6'th inning. With Luis Matos anticipated arrival, gotta think YtY will be moving off CF to make room for the phenom with Matos taking over as everyday CF with YtY and Austin Slater sharing LF.

Patrick Bailey C- 2 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .323.  Forgot to mention that Joey Bart C was activated of the IL and optioned to AAA Sacramento.  Catcher is Bailey's job to lose now which may not happen for...oh, about 10 years.

Alex Cobb RHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.09.  Not Cobb's best start but also not his worst.  He left the game with a 3-2 lead.  He threw 70 pitches in 4 IP.

Keaton Winn RHP- 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K, GO/AO= 6/2.  ERA= 2.25.  Amidst the hulabaloo over the injuries and Matos' call up, let's not forget Keaton Winn's first MLB appearance with family and friends in attendance.  Not a spectacular line but he kept the ball on the ground and limited the Cards to 1 run in 4 innings.  Yes, we will take that!  I imagine Winn and Tristan Beck RHP will form a shuttle tandem between Sacramento and SF.

The Win improves the Giants record to 35-32.  I believe this is the second time the Giants have been 3 games above .500.  They will likely finish the night 6 games behind the D'Backs who are losing big to the Phillies and 3 games behind the Dodgers who are leading the White Sox.  The Giants are a game ahead of the Brewers in the race for the last Wild Card spot.

Anthony DeSclafani RHP tries for a swwweeeepppp tomorrow at 10:15 AM PT facing Jordan Montgomery LHP.  And this may be the dawning of the Luis Matos era!

Down on the Farm: 6/12/2023

The full season leagues all had their usual Monday off.

Complex Performances:

Dario Reynoso 3B- 3 for 4, SB(1).  BA= .476.   He's been a regular in the Complex reports so far.  18 yo first pro season.

Angel Guzman LF/RF- 4 for 5, 2 2B, 3B.  BA= .500.  17 yo B-L, T-L first pro season.

Rayner Arias CF- 1 for 4, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .400.  The bat seems real.  Hopefully he'll be a fast mover.

Guillermo Williamson 1B- 1 for 3, HR(3).  BA= .350.  The power is real.  Let's see if he can sustain enough contact to access it.

Will Bednar RHP- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 1.93.  0 ER but not a dominating appearance by any stretch.  

Game Wrap 6/12/2023: Giants 4 Cardinals 3

Camilo Doval had to bail Tyler Rogers RHP out of a jam in the 8'th inning then went on to overcome command issues and a bizarre bad bounce single to slam the door on the Cardinals for his 17'th Save of the season.  Key Lines:

Austin Slater CF- 3 for 5.  BA= .400.  Slater has been on fire since coming off the IL.  He even doesn't have much of a L-R split and has almost as many AB's against RHP's as against LHP's(26 vs 19), although over time I think he would regress to his career L-R split.

Mitch Haniger LF- 2 for 5, 2B.  BA= .231.  2 big RBI's for Haniger.  He's still only hitting .222 over his last 7 game but is 4 for 12 over his last 3.  WAY too early to give up on him and his 3-year contract.

Logan Webb RHP- 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, GO/AO= 11/3.  ERA= 3.15.  Webb had his streak of QS broken up last start.  He starts another one tonight.

Camilo Doval RHP- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K, Save(17).  ERA= 1.86.  Doval came in with the runners on first and third and 2 outs in the 8'th inning.  He promptly walked Willson Contreras to load the bases.  No worries, Papi.  Dylan Carlson flied out to end the threat.  Doval obviously did not have his best command, especially for the slider, but got Jordan Walker to hit it on the ground toward Brandon Crawford but the ball hit a visible ridge in the grass(not sure if the grass in Busch Stadium is real or fake) and took to the air way over Crawford's head for one of the more bizarre hits I've ever seen.  The next batter, Dejong, hit into a GIDP.  Sigh of relief but not for long.  Tommy Edman walked and stole 2B then Camilo hit Brendon Donovan with a pitch that would otherwise have been wild to put 2-runners on ahead of Paul Goldschmidt who already had HR in the game.  Camilo calmly got Goldy to hit the ball back to him for the easy throw-out. Game over.  Torture!  

The D'Backs are leading their game against the Phillies so the Giants probably won't gain ground on them.  The Dodgers were idle so the Giants trail them by just 3 games now.  And they move into a tie with the Brewers in the Wild Card race for the 2'nd and 3'rd slots.

Alex Cobb RHP tries to clinch a series win tomorrow evening facing Jack Flaherty RHP.

Churn Watch:  Tristan Beck RHP was optioned out to AAA Sacramento after pitching 5 innings in 3 appearances over 5 days.  The good news is we get a chance to see what Keaton Winn RHP can do at the MLB level.  He's had several dominant starts, albeit in 4 inning portions.  And I am sure we have not seen the last of Tristan Beck who pitched very well while with the Giants.

Down on the Farm: 6/11/2023

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats crushed the Las Vegas Aviators 18-2.

Luis Matos LF- 3 for 6, 2 HR, SB(6).  BA= .396.

Brett Wisely CF- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(1).  BA= .302.

Ford Proctor 3B- 3 for 4, 2 HR(4).  BA= .247.

Clint Coulter DH- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(5).  BA= .247.

Shane Matheny 1B- 2 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .221.

Alex Wood LHP- 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 5.2.  ERA= 2.70.

Sean Newcomb LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Not much more to say about Matos.  He is batting .438 in June with 6 HR's.  You can reasonably say this is a PCL mirage but he raked at AA too.  If the PCL is not a challenge for him and you leave him there too long, he's only going to develop bad habits.  On the other hand, what veteran player does a team contending for a playoff spot drop to make room for him.  He's going to have to wait for an injury or some kind of deadline trade to make room.

Alex Wood worked 3 IP in a rehab assignment.  I would think he'll get called up to take his next turn in the Giants rotation.  Sean Newcomb's rehab progresses to AAA.  Will he eventually get activated or will FZ flip him in a trade like he did Matthew Boyd and Trevor Rosenthal last year?

AA:  Altoona Curve outlasted the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-4(10 innings).

Marco Luciano DH- 2 for 4, HR(8), BB, SB(4).  BA= .191.  

Landon Roupp RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 1.83.

Carson Seymour RHP- 4 IP,  3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 7/1.  ERA= 3.35.

Luciano is 5 for 7 with 3 HR's and 3 BB in his last 2 games.  Curve scored 4 of their 5 runs after the 7'th inning.

A+:  Tri-City Dust Devils defeated the Eugene Emeralds 8-4.

Grant McCray CF- 0 for 3, 2 BB, SB(24).  BA= .230.

Victor Bericoto RF- 1 for 4, HR(11), BB.  BA= .303.

Brett Auerbach 3B- 3 for 5, 2B.  BA= .500.

Ghordy Santos DH- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .193.

A:  Visalia Rawhide edged out the San Jose Giants 3-2.

Onil Perez C- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .313.

Matt Higgins 1B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .291.

Reggie Crawford LHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 6.14.

Hayden Birdsong RHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 2.16.

Complex leagues were idle as usual on Sundays.

Game Wrap 6/11/2023: Giants 13 Cubs 3

 Joc Pederson  and Thairo Estrada combined for 4 HR's as the Giants offense exploded for 13 runs the day after nearly getting no-hit for a runaway win.  Key Lines:

Thairo Estrada 2B- 2 for 4, 2 HR(9), HBP.  BA= .297.  We've had a commenter who has repeatedly called for Thairo to not bat second because of a negative split with runners on base(SSS from this season, not a career split).  Today, he batted leadoff and homered twice....and drove in 2 additional runners for a 4-RBI game.  Talk of an All-Star game selection is heating up.

Joc Pederson DH- 4 for 4, 2 HR(7), BB.  BA= .282.  Joc is batting .478 over his last 7 games.  

Casey Schmitt SS- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .287.  Schmitt desperately needed a game like this.  He uncharacteristically made a couple of errors early and you have to wonder if he was taking his challenges at the plate out to field with him.  

John Brebbia RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.25.  Brebbia opened the second game in a row after going 2 innings yesterday.  He has appeared in 28 of the Giants 65 games.

Ryan Walker RHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's, GO/AO= 6/2.  ERA= 1.46.  I guess Walker was the bulk-inning guy today.  He came in when the score was 4-2 Giants and did a nice job of shutting down the Cubs from making any kind of comeback.

Brandon Crawford RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.  What a nice moment for Crawford whose arm at shortstop is legendary and who lobbied for a chance to pitch for a long time.  He got a nice ovation after recording the final out of the game.

The Win took the Giants back to 1 game over .500 at 33-32.  That leaves them 7 games behind the D'Backs who are threatening to run away with the division, but only 3.5 games behind the Dodgers and just 0.5 games of the Wild Card pace.

The Giants do not get a travel day as they head to St Louis for a series against the Cardinals.  Logan Webb RHP gets the start tomorrow evening against Matthew Liberatore LHP.  Some of you may remember that Liberatore was a favorite draft prospect of mine once upon a time.

Down on the Farm: 6/10/2023

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators outscored the Sacramento River Cats 11-6.

Luis Matos RF- 3 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .390.

Will Wilson SS- 2 for 4, HR(10).  BA= .224.

Ford Proctor 1B- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .235.

It's getting a little ridiculous for Matos.  At some point the Giants are going to have to find out if this is for real at the MLB level, especially if the team continues to hover around .500.  4 HR's in 3 games for Will Wilson.

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels trounced the Altoona Curve 11-2.

Wade Meckler CF- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .333.

Marco Luciano SS- 3 for 3, 2 HR(7), 2 BB.  BA= .180.

Carter Williams RF- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .265.

Ryan Murphy RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 5.18.

Meckler comes off the IL and picks up where he left off, a good sign.  Huge game for Luciano.  Hopefully this is the start of a breakout.

A+:  Tri-City Dust Devils edged out the Eugene Emeralds 2-1(Game 1 of DH, 7 innings).

Logan Wyatt 1B- 2 for 3, HR(8).  BA= .261.  

Brett Auerbach LF- 2 for 2.  BA= .667.

Mat Olsen RHP- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.24.

Auerbach struggled mightily in AA Richmond for the second year.  Gets sent down, hopefully to regroup at a level he can handle.

A+:  Eugene Emeralds topped the Tri-City Dust Devils 6-5(Game 2 of DH, 7 innings).

Victor Bericoto RF- 2 for 3, HR(10).  BA= .305.

Max Wright C- 1 for 2, HR(6), BB.  BA= .154.

Hot tip from Twitter:  Victor Bericoto is first Giants prospect to double digit HR's this season.

A+:  San Jose Giants pounded the Visalia Rawhide 12-2.

Turner Hill CF- 1 for 4, BB, SF, SB(7).  BA= .300.

Diego Velasquez 2B- 3 for 6, HR(3), SB(8).  BA= .331.

Zach Morgan C- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .224.

Andrew Kachel DH- 2 for 5.  BA= .300.

Alexander Suarez LF- 1 for 2, 3 BB, 2 SB*7).  BA= .258.

Hayden Wynja LHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.97.

Nomar Medina LHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's, GO/AO= 6/1.  ERA= 3.72.

Someone asked about sure-fire future major leaguers on the SJ Giants.  Diego Velasquez sure looks the part although Aeverson Arteaga SS put up similar numbers last year and is struggling in A+ ball this year.

Complex Performances:  

Dario Reynoso 2B(DSL)- 2 for 4.  BA= .412.  18 yo with intriguing start to pro career.

Brayan Narvaez RHP(DSL)- 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  18 yo, 6'2", 175 lbs making his first pro start.

Rayner Arias CF- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(2), 2 BB.  BA= .438.  Top bonus baby from 2023 signing cycle.  Looks too good for DSL.  Extremely exciting prospect.

Moises De La Rosa RF(DSL)- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .556.  Second season in DSK but still only 18 yo.  MLB size at 6'2", 190 lbs.  

Yojanser Caldera RHP(DSL)- 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Another 18 yo making pro debut.  Giants had a strong group of international pitching prospects in the ACL last season.  They now appear to have a strong group of 2023 signees making their pro debuts in the DSL.

Seth Corry LHP(ACL)- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Encouraging rehab start for Corry coming off TJ surgery.  Loss of command is widely considered to be a telltale sign of UCL tears.  Hopefully that was cause of Corry's command issues and he's fixed now.

So much good stuff!

Game Wrap 6/10/2023: Cubs 4 Giants 0

 The Giants came within 4 outs of being no-hit by veteran junkballer and nemesis Kyle Hendricks RHP.  Key Lines:

John Brebbia RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.38.  Very impressive 2 innings of work to open the game for Brebbia, which made me ponder what if the Giants were to stretch him out and make him a SP?  The disturbing part of this line is he's going to open tomorrow's game too!

Jakob Junis RHP- 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 4.58.  Junis has been pitching quite well, so can't really argue with him being the first bulk-innings guy today.  It's just that Junis is going to have days like this.  In this case the ballgame was all but over by the time he exited.

Sean Manaea LHP- 4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  Not sure why Manaea has not been given a chance to start again or at least be the first bulk-innings guy out.  As noted above, by the time he got in the game, it was all but over.

Looked up Hendricks career splits.  Yep, overall career ERA is 3.47, 2.29 vs Giants.  He owns them.

The Loss drops the Giants back to .500 and now they have to win tomorrow to not get swept at home.  John Brebbia reprises his role as Opener, but who's going to pitch the rest of the game?  Tristan Beck RHP should be available but he pitched 2+ innings Friday night so probably can't go more than 2 or 3.  Rumor has it that Keaton Winn RHP will get called up.  He's on the 40-man roster.